I’ve been foraging for wild edibles since I was a young kid. My grandfather started teaching me at a very young age. From edible plants to wild mushrooms, he and I were out in the woods searching for many different species. For the foraging beginner, it can be a very frustrating and dangerous adventure. In this article I will begin with the very basics of foraging for mushrooms.
Learning to forage for wild edibles begins by getting a book. For edible plants, I have used Peterson’s Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. This book I’ve used for years. When it comes to mushrooms, I have used for over 40 years the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms. They are both great resources and fit in a pack very well. I also recommend finding a mentor for a hands-on experience. There are many classes given on this subject going on in different areas around here usually all summer long.
In this article I will concentrate on wild mushrooms. Many edible mushrooms have similar poisonous look-a-likes at early stages of growth. Those mushrooms are not for the beginner to identify. This is why you should start off with what I call the basic 10:
- morel
- chicken of the woods
- white oysters
- chanterelles
- black trumpets
- hen of the woods
- indigo milky
- golden oysters
- king bolete
- Dryad saddle
These 10 mushrooms are just a few of many edible mushrooms that can be found in this area. They are perfect for the beginning forager to learn to identify. I would recommend looking each one up and learning its unique characteristics. A field mushroom which grows in pastures is usually an edible. Notice I have not mentioned any little brown or white mushrooms. At the early stages those can be very difficult and dangerous, for instance a white mushroom called the destroying angle is deadly and will shut your liver down if ingested! Another nasty mushroom, which every year is misidentified, is the death cap which has the same deadly properties as the destroying angle. This is why those little brown or whites are not to play around with as you are beginning your journey into mushroom foraging.
As spring begins every year me and many other shroomers take to the woods searching for morels. I will use morels for a lesson on how, why, and when to best collect them.
As the ground gets warmer after the snow melts, it gets to be an interesting time. Every mushroom has a certain temperature it likes to grow at. Mushrooms are a fruiting body only. They are like an apple on a tree. Mushrooms don’t contain seeds. They have spores which from the day they grow, their job is to spread spores. Mushrooms grow from an unseen network called mycelium. This organism, whether in a tree or underground, will produce mushrooms only to keep itself healthy. Once it finds a home in its host, such as a log, it will consume that substance of every nutrient till it takes every bit of it. As the mushroom spreads its spores, those spores are to make more mycelium. Just a little lesson on how a mushroom works.
As the earth temperatures rise to about 53 degrees morels will start to grow in the areas they love and where they are established. Morels love dying elm trees, old orchards, and tulip poplars. As the earth temperatures rise to about 65 the morels will stop growing. Every mushroom has a season and earth temperature it likes to grow in. Take the hen of the woods. It likes colder temps and grows in the fall. But, golden and white oysters will grow all summer. Now that the earth temps are around 68 to 70 degrees these days, morels are basically finished for the season here until next year. Those ten mushrooms I listed have a season which they like and an area to grow on, or around. Learn to identify each one and where it prefers to grow.
Get yourself the books I mentioned and find a mentor if you are interested in beginning foraging. The best part of foraging is that you’re out in nature! There are many videos on YouTube and many Facebook groups on foraging out there. I am the administrator of a page on Facebook called NY Foraging and Outdoors. We deal with edible mushrooms and plants. Feel free to reach out to me and I will work you into a class.
I hope this article will interest you and help you begin a new journey into the world of foraging for edible plants and mushrooms. ‘Til next time.
Hey, I may see you in the woods.
FACEBOOK: NY FORAGING & OUTDOORS
Barry Knights is a lifelong resident of Kinderhook village. He has been foraging for 54 years and has taught wilderness survival and other outdoor skills. Mr. Knights has had articles published in the Conservationist, Field and Stream and Outdoor Life. He has taught different classes on these subjects around the area.